Out Of The Frying Pan
by Trivette Lover Heather
Summary: Individual Series of Tags to the Season Eight Episode, Out of the Frying Pan.
1. Beautiful Daughter

_**AN: Yes, I'm back. I've missed you all! I apologize for the lack of updates. But I hope these tags more than make up for the absence. It feels good to be writing them again. I have missed reading your comments and hope you'll continue to read as we come up on the Season Finale. Thanks for reading! **_

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><p><em><strong>Gibbs<strong>__: You have a beautiful daughter, Tobias. _

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><p>And he didn't.<p>

No secret there.

After he saw Fornell out, he had two choices.

Head to the couch to sleep or return to what his mother in law had deemed his "torture chamber?"

He wasn't sure which the better alternative was.

Turns out there was third choice.

He wasn't sure what got him there. The bourbon or sheer determination.

He found himself in a dusty bed room, pink walls, strawberry short cake bed spread, and a few dolls lined up beside each other.

Just as she had left them.

He sat down on the bed slowly, a cloud of dust stirring in the air. There were tears in his eyes now.

Must be the dust.

He took one of her dolls and set it up right. "Miss you baby girl." He managed through a choke in his throat.

Had to be the dust.

He awoke the next morning with swollen eyes, a doll curled up to his chest and an old familiar pain in his chest…

It wasn't the dust.


	2. Even Leroy Jethro Gibbs

_**Tony:**__ Everyone deserves their privacy. Even Leroy Jethro Gibbs._

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><p>Gibbs hovered at Tony's desk the next morning, cup of coffee in hand.<p>

"Morning boss…" He looked up slightly confused. After all, Gibbs only hovered under extreme circumstances. "Everything alright?"

No reply came.

It was then; Tony went for the lighthearted approach. "Wanna just hit the back of my head and skip the pep talk?"

"Feeling guilty DiNozzo?"

"Usually," he said under his breath, knowing full well Gibbs had heard him. "If this is about the wedding invitation, I never opened it…even ask Ziva, she caught me in the shower."

"With clothes on." Ziva spoke quickly in her own defense.

Gibbs didn't acknowledge her outburst and continued his downward glare at Tony.

"Is this about me obsessing? Because I really think I've gotten a lot better. I mean sure, I'm a bit fascinated by you boss, but only in those most respectful kind of way…"

It was then the head slap came. And Tony seemed to relish in it.

"Thank you boss."

It was the last few seconds of the glare that legitimately scared Tony. Later that night, he made a point to follow up on them.

"You're hovering." Gibbs spoke into the near empty bull pen.

"More like you by the minute…" Tony replied, making his way over to Gibbs desk. "Listen boss."

"Spare me DiNozzo. What you do in your personal life is just that, personal."

"So you didn't hit me because of the wedding thing?" He knew the answer before he asked it. "What do you want me to do?"

Gibbs smirked up at him. "You know the answer to that question too."

"I like her," he said simply. "Sure, it's complicated, but…"

"Nothing is ever simple with you DiNozzo."

"More like you by the minute," he repeated himself then thought for a long minute. "I could have been her, you know?"

Gibbs stood up and only gestured for him to continue.

"You don't know?" Tony questioned him. "Of course you do, you know everything…even what happens in the womens showers…"

"Not until just now," Gibbs moved around his desk and met him face to face. "Rules are there for a reason."

"You ever feel like the rules don't apply to you?" He caught his glare, slightly more intense than that mornings had been. "Of course you don't. Forget I asked."

"I can't tell you what to do DiNozzo."

"You do it all the time."

"Not about this."

Tony understood. "So the head slap?"

"So_ you_ know that _I _know."

It was then Gibbs left without another word, leaving Tony to contemplate the conversation, He glanced over the partition at the empty desk behind it and ran a hand over his face.

Maybe some rules don't apply to him after all.


End file.
